


Out of the Magical World

by StarFeather



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: HPFT, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 15:05:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6475060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarFeather/pseuds/StarFeather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><img/><br/>amazing banner by Vault 713 @tda</p>
<p>She cut the connection to the man who represented the magical world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Who may it be that grieves her heart?_  
_On her face one sees only the wet traces of tears._

_\- Poems ‘The Night of Sorrow’ by Li Bai, translated by Shigeyoshi Obata_

 

Cho tied her hair back with a blue rubber band. She spread out her cream-colored apron, which had been neatly folded, and put it on. She washed her hands and dried them. And then she set up the coffee maker, allowing a single coffee cup of boiled water to be dispensed at any time for brewing. She could use magic to do it, but she didn’t carry her wand with her. She was determined to say good-bye to the magical world. She leant against the counter. From that spot, she had a good view of the courtyard of the university. The weather was nice, and the clear blue sky could be seen from the open front door. Water was spraying from a fountain and a few students were sitting in their favorite spots on its marble rim  
.  
The inside of the shop became saturated with the aroma of coffee. The first customer, an old man, entered and approached Cho. He took off his flat cap and ordered weak coffee. From his serene manner, Cho guessed that he might be a professor. She remembered her tiny professor, Flitwick. He used to praise her at least once in a day. She was one of his favorite students. He used to call her “Lady Luck”, saying she would bring victory to Ravenclaw’s Quidditch team.

Thinking of Quidditch brought back bitter sweet memories. Two talented wizards; one was killed and the other survived. Both of them were infatuated with her once. She loved both of them, too.

One sweet memory in Cho’s fourth year couldn’t be forgotten easily. It was when she recognized the golden boy. He was a lean third year, but once he mounted his Firebolt, he turned into a bullet. His agility and braveness in doing a bold dive ignited something in her heart. She felt a kind of connection. Though her team lost against Gryffindor, she couldn’t forget him. After that day, when she sat at the long table in the Great Hall for breakfast, she used to follow him with her eyes towards the Gryffindor table- until she was noticed by Cedric Diggory, who sent an owl to her.

Cedric wrote that he was happy to see her injury was healed and she could play again on the pitch, and told her how he had been watching her from afar. He had had crush on her for so long. When she had her first date with Cedric, she was mesmerized by his gentleness. He would wait every morning at the entrance of the Great Hall to escort her to class. It was heavenly; she was filled with happiness knowing that she was loved by the most popular and handsome Hufflepuff.

One morning, as they were walking hand in hand to Cho’s next class, she asked him, “For the next Quidditch season, what’s your tactics for playing the Gryffindor team? I mean, against Harry Potter… ” She was excited just remembering Harry’s sharp reflexes.

Cedric’s mood instantly changed. He had been calmly listening to her chat, but now he didn’t hide his rivalry, “You know I beat him last year.”

Cho could see the blood rush into his face and felt happy to know he felt in the same way as her. The Gryffindor Seeker had something which ignited fire in every player.

“It was lucky that I won. It was really only because of the Dementors,” Cedric said with a small sigh. “To my disappointment, there’ll be no Quidditch next year. Professor Sprout informed us Prefects that there’ll be a big event on instead.”

“What event?” Cho was disappointed to learn she wouldn’t be able to play against Harry.

“I can’t tell you yet. Dumbledore will inform everyone in the next semester.”

All the prefects were excited, and they had been talking about entering the Triwizard Tournament. Cho could remember the moment when Cedric was selected as a Hogwarts champion by the goblet and the excited cries from the other students. But she had to hide her true feeling towards Harry at the same time. She got more excited than any girls at Harry’s dramatic success in the first task, when he captured the golden Dragon egg, reminding her of his excellent Seeking skills. And she felt disgusting thinking all the unfortunate incidents were caused by the Dark Lord. After she had lost Cedric, all what she could do was to believe Harry. She should have.

Here again, the wound ached deep in her heart. She suffered twinges of guilt whenever she thought of it. How many nights had she cried? Harry’s clear green eyes pierced her conscience every night after the incident in the Room of Requirement. She loved him. She still loved him and she couldn’t help fighting for him in her own way. She should’ve told him her real feelings even after he dismissed her. She desperately studied hard for her N.W.E.T.s to conquer her complicated feeling towards him. Even if her devotion wouldn’t reach him, she couldn’t stop loving him. She wanted to prove her worth to him by getting a license to be a Healer.

Cruel words from her friends became a hindrance even after the war. She knew they were envious. They felt jealous of her Quidditch skills, her wit and her beauty. She had never been conceited about her looks. She happened to be gifted with beauty by her parents. Only Marietta Edgecombe understood her and became a close friend. She had been delighted when Cho became Cedric’s girlfriend. When Marietta told Cho that Umbridge had threatened her mother with dismissal, she couldn’t stop her treachery. She couldn’t believe her eyes when her true friend had the ugly pustules, “SNEAK” on the face. She couldn’t believe that Hermione Granger really used the jinx on her friend. And she believed Marietta deserved forgiveness. She even begged Harry to give her a second chance. The consequence was their complete break up after a quarrel. At that time she was more loyal to her Ravenclaw friend than Harry, which she would regret. After the war, she avoided Marietta. She was groping about in the dark, trying to get Harry’s trust back even though she knew it was too late.

If the war hadn’t occurred, she might have had a chance to try out for the professional Quidditch League. But the chaos after the war prevented the British League from recruiting new players for months. Instead, she continued her Healer training. The biggest reason that urged her to take care of patients than selecting the other careers was that she wanted to do something to amend her conduct in the past. She should’ve chosen justice over friendship. Harry wanted her to, but she couldn’t. She shielded her friend from accusations by members of Dumbledore Army. She didn’t regret what she did for her friend but she had suffered for it when Harry despised her. She sensed then that he would leave her forever. It was easy to see they had different values.

She knew keenly and painfully that he had found someone to love forever. The connection between Ginny and Harry couldn’t be severed. They were really a good couple. There was no room for her to get in between them.

Still, she didn’t hesitate to go back to Hogwarts to fight against the Death Eaters for Harry and her friends. After the battle, she continued her Healer’s training and got her license. She had a few chances to convey her secret feelings to Harry; he became an Auror and was regularly admitted to St.Mungo’s after dangerous missions. Every time she found out he was being brought in, she volunteered the night shift. Her colleague, Parvati Patil, sensed what was going on and she indicated that it could cause a trouble with Ginny. Cho didn’t mind. She dreamed that a miracle would happen between them.

In a private room that contained a neatly made bed, he was sleeping. The cream-colored walls gleamed white in the moonlight. She loved the quietness of the night at St. Mungo’s. Everything was silent except Harry’s quiet snoring. She could see the old scar on his forehead through a fringe of jet-black hair. Tonight he was hers. They were alone in the room. Even though she knew he wouldn’t awake from his slumber, it didn’t matter. She wondered what dream he was having. Was she in the dream? She smiled wryly at the thought. He would never dream of her. If he was having a dream now, Ginevra Weasley would be part of it. She shook off the image of Ginny and pulled the soft duvet up to cover his shoulders. And then she spoke to the sleeping man,

“Now Harry, I’ll change your bandage,” she said, pulling the duvet up around his knees. Knowing he would not wake until the Sleeping Draught wore off, she kept talking while she was removing it from his left leg. “You must have acted impulsively again, Harry. How many times have I changed your bandages? I still remember when you were carried to the Hospital Wing after that disastrous Quiddich accident.” Examining the nasty injury, she cast a cleaning charm. Carefully, she poured three drops of dittany on the wound. She watched, relieved, as the cure-all potion was absorbed in the skin and it scabbed over. “There, now all you need is to rest.” She covered his legs with the duvet again.

She didn’t have to watch him all through the night, but she remained in the room anyway. She wanted to stay with him as long as she could, although she was expecting another patient, an old witch whose left arm splinched when she tried to Apparate, to call Cho to give her another drip of painkiller potion. Then she was surprised by an unexpected voice.

“Thank you.” Harry said, his voice rough.

“Did I forget to give you a Sleeping Draught?” Cho’s stared at him, her eyes wide.

Harry blinked several times. “No, I don’t think so. Maybe I’m resistant to sleeping potions after my Auror training.”

“You can drink a lot, can’t you?” Cho felt her heart beat speed up over this unexpected midnight conversation.

He kept staring at the ceiling. “Hmm, I may have high alcohol tolerance.” Then he chuckled, “I remember Seamus kept drinking after Ron dripped Sleeping Draught in his glass. Ron hated doing pub crawls with him.”

Though she had already taken his pulse on the wrist, she said, “Harry, may I check your pulse?”

“Yeah, go ahead.” He tried to hold his left arm out of duvet.

“No, it’s okay. Stay still. I’ll feel your neck.” She sat down on a stool beside the bed. She touched her fingers on the warm skin of his neck saying, “Sorry, my fingers may be cold.”

When she touched her hand, he blinked his green eyes twice and kept staring at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve cast warming charm on my fingers.”

“No, you don’t have to say sorry.” His beautiful eyes tried to focus on hers. “Where are my glasses?”

“On the side table. But I thought you don’t need them anymore? You take a clear vision potion, don’t you?”

“Yeah. But the glasses have a special function for investigation. I thought I’ve lost them during my mission.”

“You were wearing them when you were brought in. The other Healer removed them before the surgery.”

“How long did the surgery take?”

“An hour. Nicolas told me you broke your own record.”

Harry chuckled again, and Cho smiled widely. She like his laugh. It was like they were back in the front of the owlery at Hogwarts, when she was in fifth year and he was in fourth; they’d arranged their first date there, back before she’d made mistakes. She hadn’t been strong enough to be his girlfriend, or to fight with him against the Ministry.

Nodding, she told him, “Your pulse is normal. You’ve recovered smoothly.” She passed him his glasses. “Now, sleep, Harry. You need rest.”

He put on his glasses and said, “I appreciate you taking care of me. Do you enjoy working as a Healer?”

“Yes, I like my work,” she replied, smiling at him. “Sometimes the night shift is hard- oh, I didn’t mean you!” Cho grew flustered as Harry quirked his eyebrows, and added, “You don’t bother me at all. You’re special to me…” The words flowed from her lips before she could stop them and she felt her face turn red.

There was a sudden awkward silence. The pause in the conversation spoke volumes to her. Harry’s kind nature was expressed by the sudden silence; he was trying to figure out how to let her down lightly. Cho coughed lightly and stood up, wanting to leave before anything more was said. But Harry stopped her,

“Wait, Cho. If you couldn’t get over me, I’m sorry.”

Damn, he knew. She glanced back at him. “You don’t have to say sorry, Harry,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. “Call me if you need anything. Have a good rest, Harry.”

She decided after that day that she would stop seeking Harry out. But she couldn’t break off her connection to him. One day, she received an owl from Luna Lovegood.  
Luna had loved Dumbledore’s Army more than anyone. She had planned the reunion party. Cho noticed her DA coin was calling her during the night shift, but she ignored it. She smiled bitterly as she thought of how she always kept it in her pocket. The coin was a symbol of her connection to Harry. She should’ve returned it to Hermione Granger.

Watching the hands on the clock tick to eight p.m., Cho started her rounds. When she turned the corner to the West wing, she noticed Parvati was standing in front of the bright yellow double-doors.

“Cho, why didn’t you come to the party? We’ve been waiting for you. I volunteered to come drag you over there,” she said.

“I can’t, Parvati. Night shift, you know.” Cho was walking pass by her.

“Roisin will cover for you. Come with me.”

“But I don’t have dress robes.”

“You look just fine in your Healer’s robes. Come on!”

She could guess what would happen if she went with Parvati. When they got to the party, she felt that she shouldn’t have been there. All the members of DA got together to share the same emotions; missing their glorious days at Hogwarts and catching up with their friends. She felt like an intruder.

Then she found Harry among the crowd, and her heart sped up.

“Hey, look, Cho came! Look at the beautiful Healer!” Seamus said playfully, nudging Harry.

How deeply she longed for his green eyes, the color of spring leaves. She knew the perfect jet-black hair was soft, as she happened to touch it many times while tending his wounds in the private ward. She knew all his scars which showed how many times he managed to survive. To help him to recover made her feel that she was fighting with him for greater things for the world.

“Cho. Your robes suit you well,” Harry said gently.  
“Thank you,” she smiled at him, feeling supreme bliss; but the moment was broken suddenly, like a glass falling and shattering, when Ginny stepped forward and steered him into the platform. Cho heard her tell him, “Come on, Harry. It’s time to make a speech.”

She’d prepared herself for this. She could behave as if nothing had happened, as if seeing Harry look happy with Ginny didn’t hurt. She even found a new conversation partner - Michael Corner. He confessed her that he couldn’t forget her after the war and had been waiting for the right moment to ask her to go out with him again.

She chose him. But her nightmares started that day. She had sealed the memory of Cedric away in her mind, but he came back to her in her dream that night.

_Cedric was carried into the ward. His body was covered with blisters and nasty wounds. Cho tried to speak to him, but no answer came from the stiff body. She put sterilized gauze on one of the gaping wounds and stitched the other. As soon as she finished, another wound was found. He looked nearly dead, but she had to bring him around. She pulled out her wand to make sure his pulse was normal. When she pointed her wand at his neck, he opened his eyes and stared at her. She got startled as his face morphed into Harry’s. His green eyes were cold and angry as he stared her down._

_“Why didn’t you fight with me?”_

_“I did, Harry. I did. I went back to Hogwarts.”_

_“Yes, you did. But you didn’t believe me. You are not strong enough.”_

_Tears welled up in her eyes at his furious declaration._

_“Don’t cry again. I’m warning you,” Harry reproved her, standing up from the bed._

_“I won’t,” she shouted, and left him. She walked out of the hospital and started running down the hill. The ground was slimy and covered with moss; her lime green robes became stained with splashes of mud in an instant. When she reached the bottom, she was standing on a cliff which rose sharply out of nothingness. Beyond the edge, there was nothing but endless black space._

When she awoke, Cho wiped the wet traces of tears from her in the early morning light. That was the day she left the magical world.

************************************************************************************************************************

The coffee shop was getting crowded. Her bitter memory was laid aside as she served coffee and snacks. The old man with the flat cap stood up from his seat and left for his lecture. It might be a good idea to study in the Muggle world to start a new life, Cho thought.

 _Maybe next spring_ , She told herself, and wiped up spilled coffee from the counter.

 

************************************************************************************************************************  
Author's Note Cherry blossoms started blooming here and there. I hope the spring will bring happiness to Cho Chang soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cho’s inner deep pain in her heart seemed to be healed since she had left the magical world. But sometimes the nightmare came back at the night when a violent storm landed on the quiet place of New York City. It was such a night when she unconsciously used her wandless magic which she had sealed for long.

  
— The birds had all gone to their nests,  
And there remained but few of my comrades.  
I went along the river—alone in the moonlight.—

  
"The Solitude of Night" by Li Bai, translated by Shigeyoshi Obata

* * *

 

As spring passed, gradually, Cho’s inner deep pain in her heart seemed to be healed since she had left the magical world. But sometimes the nightmare came back at the night when a violent storm landed on the quiet place of New York City. It was such a night when she unconsciously used her wandless magic which she had sealed for long.

The dream ended as usual at the same scene, when she stood on the cliff that rose sharply among endless black space, and she expected that she woke up on her bed as she had done before. But the nightmare lasted. She was frightened by the fact that she had been standing on the edge, which commanded a spectacular view of summer falls. Though she was astounded by the height from there to the bottom, she was completely mesmerized by the sight when the rising sun dyed the sky and valleys pink, light blue, yellow and orange. She regretted that she didn’t have her broom. If she had had it, she could’ve sored up and glided from the top to the bottom. And she felt horrified with the situation that she wasn’t carrying her wand. She wasn’t the type of the person who could use wandless magic freely like Dumbledore and the other powerful wizards. Only when she kept her emotions at bay emotionally, she could perform the magic without using a wand. The summer breeze in the morning sun was cozy, but she was stuck at the top of the cliff. That was when she met him. Startled by a male’s voice from behind, she glanced back tense. His jet-black hair was messy as someone else’s. Oddly enough, he looked totally identical to Harry. 

He grinned, a backpack slung over his shoulder. “Hey, I never thought that I will see a human-being in the early morning.” His accent was not American, rather southern British. His eyes were not green, but blue.

She was sure he was a Muggle. “Excuse me, where are we?” She asked him making sure she was wearing her black T-shirt and cotton trousers. She relieved that she didn’t put on her pajama.

 He burst out laughing. “How did you come here without knowing your destination?”

 She managed to make a story, “Well, erm…I was with my friends for…our farewell camp party, they invited me and we bet on how far we could climb the rocks. They seemed to give up in the middle. Did you see them?”

 “No. You are in Horsetail Falls, California. You must have very kind, reckless friends. So was the party farewell to your high school or uni?” He shoved his hand in the backpack and pulled out two bottles of water. He gave one to her. His smile was just like Harry’s.

Looking into his gentle eyes, she felt relaxed. He seemed to be a good person. “Sort of. You? Are you a traveler?” She couldn’t resist throwing her gaze at his forehead that was hidden by a fringe of hair. How on earth could she meet someone who looked like him?

He pushed his fingers through his hair, which showed he had no scar there and said, “Yes, currently I am. My hobby is taking pictures. I do water color painting, too. I…quit one company in England.” Then the clouds hung over the valley and he looked gloomy suddenly. “Damn! I missed the best shot.” He grabbed the camera on his chest and glanced over the landscape. She sensed he had also a broken heart.

 “I’m sorry. It seems that I distracted you. Will you have a chance to visit here again?” Cho apologized. The sun had already risen between the ridges.

 The man didn’t answer and kept pressing the shutter of his single-lens reflex camera. Cho waited patiently by his side till he finished. The sky was going light blue entirely, and then the other colours were vanishing.

  “Are you British? I reckon you’re not American. I’m Gordon Fraser. My father is Scottish. My mother is from Oxfordshire.” He shoved his camera back to the backpack.

 “I’m from Britain and my name is…” She hesitated whether she would say her real name or not. “My mother is from Hong Kong. Call me Cho.” She thought she didn’t have to tell him her last name.

 “Well, Cho, nice to see you.” He held out his right hand to her.

 When they shook hands, she felt his hand warm and tried to remember the days when she had walked hand in hand with Harry at Hogwarts. It was a very long time ago. Then she was surprised by the yellow banana which appeared suddenly in front of her face.

  Gordon grinned and said, “Eat it. It will take a lot of energy to reach your party.”

 She was at a loss for words. Her lie would be discovered soon. There was no party waiting for her. “Well…eh…I lied. I ran away from my ex-boyfriend and we had brought his car. So I don’t know how to get to the city.”

 He began eating his banana slowly. When he finished, he asked, “Did your ex-boyfriend hurt you?”

 “No, we just had a quarrel. It was a bitter argument.”

 “Oh, sorry. So…where do you live? I’ll take you back to your home.”

 “It’s very kind of you. I live in Greenwich Village.”

 “What? Did you come from New York? We are in California.” He stared at her with a frown.  

 Damn. Her lie wouldn’t last at all. “Em…” What she could do was just stare at her banana in her hand. She could choose to disapparate, but she decided to walk down the rocks with him. Encouraged, she peeled the banana and ate it.

 “It’s okay if you don’t tell the truth. It seems that you’re on a trip to forget your sorrow. I won’t ask you anymore. I understand.” After taking hers, he put the banana peels away.

 Half of his talk was true. She still had her sorrow. And Gordon looked so much like Harry. Gordon walked down the rocks. She followed him silently. She appreciated that he didn’t ask her again. They climbed down to reach the path through a forest. She watched his T-shirt soak wet with sweat from behind. It was easy to use magic to remove his sweat, but she just resisted. Then she remembered that she didn’t carry her wand. Suddenly she felt the heat. She thanked him silently for giving her a bottle of water and drank it.          

 “There! Finally.” He pointed at the path panting. It was only a short time till they found a van which would go to the city. The van passed lots of camping cars, all there because of the summer season.

 The ruddy faced driver asked them, “Are you love birds?”

 “No. I’ve just met her.” Gordon glanced at Cho and smiled. He rummaged in his backpack and pulled out sandwiches. “Do you want to eat?” He passed one to her.

 She thanked him and bit it. She tasted ham and cheese. “Did you make them?”

 “Yes, I did. It’s easy. Just cutting ingredients. Sorry I ran out of butter.” He answered and started talking with the driver.

 Harry could also make breakfast. She had heard about it from Ginny. He was hers now. Her feeling was going back to the bitter memory. And then her mind was pulled back by Gordon’s next words.

 “What are you doing in New York? Do you go to university there?”

 “No, but I wish I could go. Maybe I can after I leave America.”

 “Will you go back to Britain?”

 “Yes. You?”

 “I don’t decide. It’s a good idea to visit New York.” Then he fell silent till the van drove them to the hotel Gordon stayed in in the city. He held out dollars to the driver, who declined saying, “You can pay me back by showing around when I visit England.” Gordon grinned wide and glanced back to her, “Nice guy.”

  After saying goodbye to the driver, Cho hesitantly asked, “Would you mind lending me money to go back to New York? I promise I’ll return it when I get to my apartment.”

 “Sure. Let’s go now. The station is near here. Show me the way.”

 “Now? Do you mean you will come with me to New York by train?”

 “Do you prefer airplane?”

 “Using Amtrak is okay with me, but it’s a long-distance journey.”

 “Yeah, perhaps three days?”

 “And we are changing the train we are on for another train at Chicago.”

 Gordon went to the front desk to check out. “I’m ready. Let’s go.” Gordon had already started walking to the station. On their way there, they stopped by Starbucks to buy sandwiches for lunch. He really resembled Harry in appearance and in character, Gryffindor determination.  

 The waiting room of Union Station was almost deserted. He could get two tickets easily. People traveled by car these days. Other than them, only one old couple and a family were waiting for the next train. The old couple told them the time of arrival. Cho and Gordon sat together on the wooden bench. He handed the Starbucks sandwich to her. Thanking him, she noticed he was traveling light.

 “You aren’t carrying a suitcase. Is it convenient for you?”

 “Yes. I wash my clothes and buy more if I need.” He glanced up the chandelier on the ceiling.

 As the old couple had told them, after two hours or so, the train arrived and it carried them to the east. They told them it was lucky the train had arrived on time. Cho and Gordon followed after the family with two kids, one of whom was holding a big teddy bear in her arms tightly, into the train. Cho shared the same room, which had a bunk bed, with Gordon. They spent time in the view lounge watching the beautiful sunset. Gordon took pictures of the scenery sticking to an angle to catch the outward of the rest of cars on the railroad which was sometimes seen curving. It had been a long time since she looked at one man. Gordon’s white T-shirt was fresh. Suddenly Cho was aware of her situation. She didn’t have even a change of clothes. Gordon urged her to go back to a dining car to have dinner. When they sat down at the table, the dining staff served Spanish chicken stew and creamy noodles with a salad. She worried how easily he was spending his money for her. She needed her money and changes of clothes. It was easier to do apparition. But she couldn’t part from him. From so much Harry in him. If he were Harry, he would teach her how to do a wandless cleaning charm he mastered during his Auror training. After finishing her desert, she heaved a big sigh.

 “What are you thinking? About your … ex-boyfriend?” His beautiful blue eyes stared at her.

 “No.” She half-lied. “I forgot to bring a change of clothes.”

 “Oh.” And then he opened his mouth again, “I have an extra T-shirt, if you don’t mind. And you can wash in the bathroom.”

 “Oh, does this train have a shower room?”

 “Yes, it does.” He pulled out his T-shirt with U 2’s logo from his back pack. “Walk through the next car to the shower room.”

 She thanked him and went out of their car. Holding the U2 T-shirt in her arms, she remembered that Harry loved the Weird Sisters. She smiled bitterly. She had tried to forget him for two years, but she still remembered him. After shower, she tried focusing wandless cleaning charm on her clothes. It didn’t work at all, but she managed to do drying charm on her washed underclothes. She needed her wand to dry the rest of the wet clothes. Then she heard knock sound, she pulled on Gordon’s T-shirt hastily. The irritated middle aged woman was waiting outside. Cho apologized her shortly and went back to her car. When she climbed the bunk bed, Gordon is already asleep.   

 It was a miracle that she met the guy named Gordon who was very much alike Harry. Even the height was the same. And his voice…remembering Harry’s voice, his gentleness, the tears welled up in her eyes unconsciously. She couldn’t stop sobbing in her bed and covered her face with a blanket to muffle the sound.

 “Are you okay?” Gordon’s voice was heard from below. “You are crying.” His voice was full of kindness, but he was not Harry.

 She suppressed the sobbing. “Sorry, I’m okay.” She uncovered the blanket and wiped her tears with the hem of the T-shirt which smelled of soap. Hearing the rattling sound, she gradually fell into sleep. Behind the closed eyelids, a visage of Harry faded away.

 

* * *

 

 In the next morning, she was woken up by the talk under her bed. Gordon seemed to talk with a train conductor.

 “I’d like to visit the old station. How can I get there?” Gordon asked.

 “You need to be a member of the New York Transit Museum.” The conductor answered.

 “Oh, I don’t think I have enough time to stop by the Museum.” He sounded depressed.  

 “I’ll give you the special free pass. I know the guy there. And here’s a timetable I got when I stopped by the last time.” The conductor noticed Cho peeping them from above and winked at her. “Your girlfriend can use it with you.”  

 “Thank you very much. Oh, wait. Here’s a small present.” He handed a pen to the conductor.

 “London Bridge. Thank you! Next time enjoy California wine. It’s the best.” He shoved the pen into his breast pocket. “Enjoy your trip, you two.” He smiled and left.

 Gordon glanced up, “Good morning. He’s so friendly. Are you hungry? I’ll go to a dining car. Will you come with me?”

 “Yes, but I have no money.”

 “You don’t have to worry about that. When I get to New York, you can show me around as a tour guide. Deal?”

 “Fine.” She descended to the floor.

 His gaze dropped on her chest. “Do you like U2?”

 “Eh, well, I don’t know much about the band. I prefer traditional songs to that kind of music.” Actually, she didn’t know Muggle music at all.

 “Ah, you will like them. They are from Ireland. The heart of the trads.” He grinned and walked through the next car.

 Cho had thought Gordon was the same age as Harry, but the much more they talked, he seemed to be far older than Harry. “Em, can I ask you how old you are?”

 “I’m twenty-five. You?” He held the slide door for her.

 “Twenty-three.”

 He was not Harry. He was a different person. He was older than Harry. He was not a wizard. He was Muggle. Would that be a new beginning? Could she have hope for the future?

 “Hey, are you listening?” Gordon asked her when they reached the dining car. “Which do you like, classic railroad French toast or continental?”

 Cho thought continental would be more expensive and quite filling and answered, “Classic French, please.” But her guess slipped. French toast with eggs was more expensive. “Oh, I thought it was cheaper. I’m sorry.”

 “You don’t have to be worry. I told you. You are my tour guide. How long have you been in New York?”

 She had lived there about only a year. She had run away from the magical world. She was a loser. “A year or so. You? What do you do in Britain?”

 Gordon evaded her question. “A year is enough to know New York. What’s your favorite part there?”

 She only knew the Greenwich Village. She had chosen the place where a ballet dance school her mother loved was located. Cho’s mother had been very eager to learn Muggle ballet there before she had entered Hogwarts. It was the only reason why Cho chose there to begin her new life.

 “Hey, are you listening?” Gordon waved his hand in front of her face.

 “Oh, sorry.” She stared at his blue eyes. They are so blue. Not green.

 “You’ve already said sorry twice.” He cut the sausage, stuck a piece in his mouth and gazed at the view outside of the window. Bleak field lined the railway without intermittent. Stubble on his chin needed to be shaved. It reminded her of Harry in St. Mungo’s Hospital room.

 “Do you live alone in London or in Scotland with your family?” She tried his personal questions.

 As she predicted, he didn’t answer and continued eating. When she had given up on him answering, he adjusted his watch on his right wrist and answered shortly. “I live in London. I…” then he looked down.

 “You don’t have to answer everything. Sorry, I might annoy you.”

 “Three times.” He smiled sadly.

 She wondered why he wouldn’t talk much about himself. And she was convinced when she noticed she couldn’t tell him she was a witch. She also couldn’t tell her secret to him.

 After crossing the Mississippi River, continuous desolate field finally ended, and the train got near the state of Illinois. Passing a massive railyard, the train slowed down. Gordon looked delighted to see the other trains in the yard and the modern Muggle buildings beyond them. The train creaked along passing under elevated highways and stopped. Chicago Amtrack Station had big columns and the glass ceiling. Cho remembered Lake Michigan was near the station. Gordon seemed to think in the same way. He asked her to go there and they went out of the station after they made sure that it would take two or three hours till the next train’s arrival. Watching the map in his hand, he led her to the lake. It was surrounded by the modern buildings, some of them were unique in the shapes, and the surface of the lake rippled gently with cool wind. Gordon engaged in taking pictures in silence. The weather was fine, which was very different from the one in London. The awesome blue sky was welcoming them. Cho sat down and touched water which was warm in her hand. Seeing his back, she wondered if he remembered London then. And she sensed he wouldn’t answer. He was very much like Harry in that point. Harry also had secrets which he couldn’t confess, mostly related to his mission to save the world. She wanted to understand him and support him, but it was not her role. It was Ginny’s. Suddenly, she stood up and said, “Let’s go. The train may arrive early.”

 “Okay, I’ll finish after one more shot.” He aimed at the blue triangle architecture and shuttered.

 On their way to New York, Gordon enjoyed the scenery of the river and the canal, being busy with taking pictures from the window while Cho was napping tired after a long train trip. When the Big Apple was approaching, Cho worried how easily Gordon wasted his money and asked, “I’m sorry to ask you again, but I’d like to pay you back for what you spent on me. How much do I owe you?”

 Gordon put away his camera and said, “That is the fourth time, you have apologized to me. Okay, you can come with me tomorrow, too. I will meet you at two in the outside of the entrance to the abandoned City Hall Station. If you insist on paying, you can give me the money tomorrow.”

 Watching the silver body of the train, they left the Penn Station. Gordon said good-bye to Cho and got on a yellow cab. She waited the cab disappeared completely, made sure nobody watch her, and she disapparated. When she got to her apartment, she noticed she was still wearing Gordon’s U2 T-shirt. She pulled her wand and did cleaning charm. And she noticed it was a long time since she had used her wand. It was easier to reuse magic than she had thought. She smiled bitterly. The oath not to use magic again was broken so easily after she ran out from the magical world.

The next day, it rained heavily, which reminded her of London’s weather. The grey leaden sky made her mind darker, but she was looking forward to see Gordon again. Grabbing estimated money, she found her wand on the dining table. Shaking her head lightly, she shoved it in her shoulder bag. She had already broke the oath last night. She left her apartment and went to the City Hall Station using subway. In the space near the entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Station, a hip-hop dancer was performing with rhythmical music in the drizzling rain. Gordon was shuttering till Cho talked to him.

 “Hi, Gordon. How much do I owe you?” She fumbled her purse in her bag.

 “It’s no wise to show a lot of money here, you know.” He nodded towards the young spectators around the hip-hop dancer.

 “Right.” She saw some of them, with unfriendly look, stare at her purse.

 “Gather round, everyone. Let’s go. The train to the City Hall will arrive soon.” The tour-guide called sightseers.

 Gordon beckoned her showing the pass he got from the Amtrack conductor and walked down to underground.

 Cho followed him down the stairs. Sightseers hang the pass and waited for the train chatting. The dark narrow space underground made Cho feel nervous. She made sure her wand in her shoulder bag. The trains made a lot of noise and finally got to the destination. The station staff set a stool between a platform and the train for them to step on the platform safely. The tour guide led them to the underground hallway. The beautiful arches and tiles lit under naked light bulbs attracted people there. The colors of the windows above were magnificent light blue and purple. Cho thought them simply lovely and remembered Ravenclaw Tower full of blue colors. Gordon didn’t stop shuttering till they reached the abandoned area where the paint wall was bare. She sensed his mood got darker compared with his previous move. Since then, he didn’t speak a word at all. When she heard the return train coming with squeaking sound, she noticed Gordon’s body sway and he fell into the railroad. Unconsciously, her right hand moved.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note : This chapter was written for Alexis Black's "The Storyteller's Aesthetic" story challenge.  
> Many thanks to Aphoride for doing beta on this. Please leave your thoughts below. Thank you!


	3. A Mountain Revelry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written for The Mythical Challenge hosted by PaulaTheProkaryote

And we laid ourselves down on the empty mountain,

 

The earth for pillow, and the great heaven for coverlet 

 

 

\-------------- A Mountain Revelry by Li Bay, translated by Shigeyoshi Obata

 

 

 

 

The train was coming with an earsplitting sound. With no time to hesitate, Cho pulled her wand out and chanted the incantation nonverbally.

 

 

“Levicorpus!”

 

 

As Gordon’s body was hoisted into the air and hovered, the train passed by the spot on the track where he might have fallen in. When the train stopped further along the platform, she flicked her wand once again and landed him on the platform safely. She was so relieved that she could manage to remember the right spell at the right time that she didn’t notice that she had just performed magic in front of the Muggle sightseers. She knew she should Obliviate, but she was at a loss. Though she had learned a lot about healing magic, she had never tried that charm before. Then someone whispered behind her.

 

 

“I’ll look after the Muggles. Don’t worry. I know the spell. Take care of your boyfriend.” The voice was a woman’s. She looked somewhere between thirty and forty years old and had stiff straight black hair and high cheekbones. A blue parakeet perched on her right shoulder. She said aloud to the Muggles who surrounded unconscious Gordon, “Did you enjoy the show? He is a stunt man for the film.” And she mumbled some spells.

 

 

Her magic seemed to work out. The Muggle sightseers crammed into a train as if nothing peculiar happened. The squeaking sound faded away and the train soon disappeared from view. Cho kept watching Gordon. With her experience as a Healer, she was sure he would soon recover. She crouched down beside him, and the woman who had helped her crouched too.

 

 

“He tried jumping in front of a train, huh?” Her almond shaped eyes narrowed at him. “You can’t kill yourself, young man. Your parents will grieve over your death.”

 

 

Her words was the cue. Gordon stirred and woke up. His blue eyes caught Cho’s dark brown eyes. “You saved me. I’m not dead?”

 

 

“Yes, we saved you. Me and…what’s your name? My name is Cho.”

 

 

“Moar *1. I was named after Native American the goddess of the moon. I had a foresight dream last night. In the dream I saved a young spy from foreign country. Are you a spy? ”

 

 

Gordon flinched at her words. He sat up slowly and touched a jacket pocket. He sighed and said, “I used the last pill to calm down my nerve. I knew it had a possibility to make me depressed, but I needed it. I’m sorry that I caused all that trouble.”

 

 

“The medicine is not good for you, young man. I’ll give you a good medicine.” Moar stood up and whispered to Cho. “He is a Muggle. We can’t use magic in front of him. Can I visit your house later? I’ll fetch some herbs from my house and I’ll go to your home. I’ll brew potions for the young man. What’s his name?”

 

 

“Gordon.” Cho answered and glanced back to Gordon who was rummaging in his jacket pocket for his cellphone and his wallet.

 

 

“Okay, Gordon, I’ll take some medicine for you. Cho, you don’t have to tell your address. This parakeet is Tamit *2. He was named after Native American’s god of the sun. Tamit will find your house. So I can visit you.” Then she let Tamit perch on Cho’s shoulder. And she climbed up the stairs to the ground.

 

 

Cho helped Gordon to stand up and they left the station. When they reached the ground, the rain had stopped and they could find even blue between the grey clouds in the sky. As a diversion, Cho chose to go through the City Hall Park, she remembered there were some art works exhibited. She hoped those sculptures would ease Gordon’s sick mind.

 

 

“You despise me, don’t you?” Gordon muttered. His grimaced face reminded her of Harry who had suffered from mind pain through the war and some ghastly cases. “I’m such a cowardly person to attempt suicide.”

 

 

Cho was quiet but in her mind, she tried to remember the patient who tried to kill himself from PTSD at St.Mungo’s. She began speaking carefully,

 

 

“No, you are not. You are a nice person who saved me from Horsetail Falls. I was completely at loss on the cliff. You know, the argument…” she tried to remember how she lied at Horsetail Falls. “…that had upset me.” She tried to remember how she was hurt by the fact Harry and Ginny looked so happy after they got together. “The ex-boyfriend…you know?”

 

 

Gordon softened his face and said, “Are you okay now?”

 

 

Cho pointed at the wooden bench near the fountain in the park. “Let’s sit there.”

 

 

The sun was streaming through the beautiful green leaves of the trees. A gentle breeze began to blow and stroked her long hair and ruffled Gordon’s dark hair as well. The blue parakeet, Tamit chirped shortly on her shoulder. Seeing his face from the side, she didn’t know why, but she felt like she would begin to cry. She didn’t know why she felt like that. She might like him. She liked him not because he looked like Harry. She just couldn’t ignore his wretched state. It might be just pity for him who would try to shorten his life. Without knowing what she was going to say, she started talking,

 

 

“Please don’t do that again. Promise me you will not do that again.” After she blurted it out, she regretted that. She should’ve listened to his worries first. She watched him out of the corner of her eye.

 

 

Gordon was looking up at the sky. Cho could count his thick eyelashes one by one. Then she noticed them wet by the tears. He tried blinking many times being afraid that the tear drops would fall down his face. Without thinking, she held his hand tightly.

 

 

“Tell me what happened if you don’t mind. I won’t tell anybody.”

 

 

He shook his head, “I’m sorry. Just my… I couldn’t control myself.”

 

 

Cho didn’t miss his hint and asked gently, “Just your what? I’m listening. You can tell me.”

 

 

Gordon looked around restlessly and stood up. “Let’s go to your apartment. Moar is waiting for us.” He smiled fleetingly at Tamit on her shoulder, which caused a pang she couldn’t describe in her heart.

 

 

“Okay, let’s grab a cab.” She changed her mind. She was afraid of using the subway after Gordon nearly fell on to the track.

 

 

Gordon didn’t make any objections and followed her silently. When they reached to a bustling street, she raised her hand and stopped one of the yellow cabs. They got into the cab and the grey-haired driver asked the destination. After telling him her address, she glanced at Gordon who was looking at the buildings outside through the window. Remembering that he had taken photos in their journey, Cho spoke.

 

 

“You can take pictures, if you want. The buildings are a little different from the ones in Britain, aren’t they?” And she waited for his answer.

 

 

There was silence and finally, he answered, “Yeah.” But he didn’t take his camera out of the backpack anymore.

 

 

The cab stopped in front of the brick apartment building. Cho paid the driver and they got off. When they went up to the third floor, they could look down on the terrace of the next building from a landing. There were two white chairs and a table with a parasol. And they caught a sight of green patches of the courtyard far below on the ground. Just then Tamit, the blue parakeet flew away from her shoulder. Next to her, Gordon muttered,

 

 

“Don’t be found by the crows, Tamit.” He kept staring the dot which was going to be smaller and smaller. “It’s a miracle the small bird will guide Moar, isn’t it?”

 

 

“Don’t you believe in her?” Cho asked him cautiously. As she was convincing herself that this man in front of her was not Harry, she realised she was afraid of the result once her true identity was revealed.

 

 

His striking blue eyes looked into hers. “I believe what she said. I’ve heard there was a parakeet which came back to her owner.” And he smiled.

 

 

His smile melted the tension inside her. She recognized she was getting attracted by his smile and she found she was waiting for his next smile. She smiled back and said, “One more flight of stairs. Let’s go.”

 

 

When she heard the key unlocked, she remembered her wand was in the shoulder bag. It had been ages since she stopped casting Alohomora Charm on the door. She put her bag on the small table near the entrance door and said to Gordon who was waiting for her.

 

 

“Put your backpack in the bedroom and relax on the sofa there.”

 

 

“You said in your bedroom?” he asked. He hadn’t moved yet.

 

 

“Yes, I did.” Though she sensed that he was still hesitating to enter her bedroom, she went to the kitchen and began washing her hands. She guessed Moar would come with Tamit soon, most likely using magic to reach to her apartment. She wanted to set everything ready for the elder witch, feeling excited to see her kind after a long time. Her inner hidden desire she had buried into the bottom of her mind deep surfaced again and she wanted to know more about magical techniques. Moar was such a witch who made her feel like that after their short encounter at the City Hall station. She put the stainless steel kettle on the cooker and took out the frozen lemon pie she made last week from the fridge. Once the water had boiled and she had made the tea, she heard a few small knocking sounds on the kitchen window. It was Tamit, hovering in the air, his beak hitting the glass. Beyond him, Cho looked down on the street and saw Moar wave her hand. She was carrying a cane basket. Cho was sure Moar brought her herbs in it.

 

 

She opened the kitchen window and called out, “On the fourth floor. Number eight.”

 

 

She shut the window and carried the tea set and the pie to the living room, noticing Gordon wasn’t sitting on the sofa. She got confused a little and checked her bedroom. When she found him sleep on her bed, her heart began beating faster. It felt almost like Harry was there. She got closer to the bed and watched him. He must have fallen asleep almost immediately, as he was still wearing his indigo trainers. Then she heard the knock and rushed to the front door.

 

 

Moar smiled at Cho showing her poorly aligned teeth and entered the living room. Tamit was perching on her shoulder and chirped merrily. She asked, “Where is the young man?”

 

 

“He is sleeping. I think we had better let him sleep for a while after the incident at the station…” She closed her eyes remembering the scene. It seemed that it was a miracle for her to save him at that moment. She shuddered imagining the consequence in case of failure.

 

 

“Let him sleep. He needs it.” Moar noticed the lemon pie on the table. “You made it? I’m exceedingly fond of a lemon pie. I love tea time.”

 

 

Hearing what Moar said, Cho heaved a sigh of relief. She poured tea into each cup on the table when Moar sat down. She cut a piece of the pie and urged her to eat it.

 

 

After Moar finished her pie, she looked very satisfied. “This is the best lemon pie I’ve ever eaten. Tell me the recipe. I’ll make it at home. No, you don’t have to explain. I know you did this in a Muggle way. I mean I want to know the Muggle recipe.” As she winked, the crow’s feet around her eyes became more noticeable. “I brought some herbs for the young man. What’s his name?” She asked his name again.

 

 

“Gordon.” Cho looked toward her bedroom and summoned a notebook from her bedroom ,writing down the recipe of the lemon pie when it arrived. When she finished, she handed the note to Moar.

 

 

Moar smiled at the note and put it into her pocket, bringing out a bunch of herbs. “I brought sage, lavender, lemon balm and Skullcap. Skullcap is very strong, especially for pregnant women, but we don’t have to be worry about him. Do you know how to brew them?” Moar chanted some incantations and soon her basket turned into a cauldron. “I’ll use the cooker for brewing. Help me.” She stood up and grabbed the herbs. Tamit, who had been flying in the living room, perched on the gate of Hogwarts replica by the metal clock set on a mantelpiece.

 

 

“Sure.” Cho stood up and walked to the kitchen and glanced back. “Do I need my wand?”

 

 

“It’s your choice. If you want to make the potion quicker, using your wand will do better. It’s better to let him drink the potion as soon as possible. I need a wooden spatula. Do you have it?”

 

 

“Yes, I have one.” Cho took the spatula hung on the wall above the cooker and handed it to Moar. She noticed Moar was a tall woman, which she hadn’t noticed at the City Hall station. Cho decided to leave everything to her and watched her work.

 

 

Moar put the cauldron on the cooker and poured a glass of water into it. And she cut the herbs so swiftly that Cho was very impressed by the movement.

 

 

“Stir clockwise three and add lemon balm leaves when I tell you. Set your wand ready, the spell is ‘Speak up your silence.’”

 

 

Cho wondered if the words were even the magical words and asked, “Are they English? I thought you would use your language.”

 

 

“My method is not language. The important thing is how eagerly you put your soul into this. If you want the young man to be in his right mind, pray for him from your heart.”

 

 

Moar’s sincere words did make sense to Cho. After she stirred clockwise three times and added some lemon balm leaves, she put her soul into the English words. She closed her eyes and tried to remember Gordon’s smile. In her imagination, he grinned at her shyly in the green fields. Though she didn’t know his secrets at all, she could remember all his kindness during a short trip from California. She really wished his happiness. She mumbled, “Speak up your silence.”

 

 

Potion in the cauldron had come to a boil, and they could smell fragrance from it. When Cho turned off the fire, Moar said,

 

 

“You wait till he wakes up. When he is awake, let him eat your delicious lemon pie and have a cup of the potion we brewed. I’ll go home now. Thank you for your lemon pie and the recipe.” Moar whistled to call Tamit.

 

 

“I’ll send you downstairs.”

 

 

“You stay for him. Okay?” Moar said. On her shoulder, Tamit chirped shortly. “One thing I can tell you. Take good care of him. He will be your special.” She smiled and left.

 

 

Cho stood there for a while wondering if Moar had the ability to tell the future. And she went back to her bedroom. When she entered the room, Gordon was still breathing peacefully as he slept on her bed. She remembered what Moar said to him at first, asking if he was a spy. If Moar’s foresight was right, Gordon’s occupation was secret service. He might be visiting America for his job. Or perhaps he had wanted to run away from his job and tried to kill himself. She remembered their fuzzy conversation in the train. Though she had her own secrets, he was also hard to figure out. He had secrets too.

 

 

She made sure he was sound asleep before taking off his shoes. When she put them on the floor, she realized how tired she was after the incident at the City Hall station. The fatigue made her sleepy and she yawned. She took off her slippers and climbed the bed and lay on her side next to him. Within moments she too was asleep, and dreaming...

 

 

They laid themselves down on the empty mountain, 

 

 

The earth for pillow, and the great heaven for coverlet *3

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End Notes: 

A/N:

Many thanks to my beta, melian.

*1, *2 : Native American Mythology

*3 : From the poem “A Mountain Revelry” by Li Bay, translated by Shigeyoshi Obata


	4. Still Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cho and Gordon came to be charmed by each other.

In front of my bed, the moon is shining bright

 

My thoughts in my mind, standing on the frosty ground

 

I look up at the bright moon

 

My gaze goes back to the ground with my feeling for my hometown

 

 

\------------------    Thoughts on a Still Night by Li Bai,

 

                                   translated by whiskyinthejar

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gordon woke up in the middle of night, not knowing where he was. Next to him, silky long hair splayed about on the pillow. Her milky skin was lit under the moonlight, her lips were slightly opened and he could hear her peaceful breathing. That day’s events rushed back to his mind. His pale-white hand was placed on two day’s stubble on his chin. He thought of shaving it, but he was afraid of waking her up. His gaze went back to her. Since he had experienced lots of things in the past, he didn’t feel strange when he encountered her first time at Horsetail Falls in California. Looking back to how they met, there was something peculiar about her. The reason why she was there was still uncertain and he couldn’t forget how she saved him at the subway with her weird stick. The details got blurry when he tried to remember, but the image, a long dark haired woman handling the weird stick was in his mind. His old habit as a double agent demanded him to contact Maharaja about the people who do magic or Druidic society in Ireland. But he dismissed the idea when he remembered her kindness and their conversations on the train from California. She had kept giving him peaceful moment since he met her. And the image in which her face was full of noble determination to try to rescue him. He couldn’t lose that like he had done a lot in the past. The memory of a race car on the highway in Northern Ireland came to his mind, Fiona sitting limply in a front passenger’s seat. This was his worst memory and it kept coming back. Involuntarily, his hand grasped at the air as if he could get her back. And it accidentally touched Cho’s shoulder.

 

Stirred by his move, she opened her eyes. His attention was held on her thick silken eyelashes which curled up gently and her long-slitted eyes, the beautiful color of midnight sky enticing him. When she opened her sweet lips, her voice like a bell comforted his nerves. “You woke. How do you feel now, Gordon?”

 

Something intangible but emotion with a pain in his heart sent him an impulse to kiss her. Surprised by her kissing back, the warmth urged him to go deeper. But her next word stopped him.

 

“Harry…” a name came out from her mouth.

 

The unknown man’s name whispered in her painful voice brought him into senses. He cursed himself, afraid he might have hurt her feelings. Harry must be her boyfriend’s name. He didn’t want to let her think he took advantage of her kindness. He quickly sat up on the bed, the pillow falling on the floor with a flopping sound, and he apologized for his careless impulse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It’s complicated. My past memory confused me. And your beauty…I’m sorry.”

 

“Why do you look like him?” She muttered and left the room. Soon she came back with a cup of tea and a piece of pie. When she sat down next to him, a spring mattress made a small squeaking sound. And there was a scent of vanilla. “I made a lemon pie. Moar and I brewed a potion for you. Don’t worry. It doesn’t contain chemical substances.”

 

Gordon was going to ask her about Harry, but he forgot when he inhaled the fragrance of minced lemon zest in the pie. The sound of pouring tea into a cup eased his nerves, while the scent of citrus fruits mixed with the other herbs made his mind clear. When he tasted the sour lemon mixed with the sweetness of vanilla cream in his mouth, he felt sheer pleasure. And the feeling that he was possessed by some evil seemed to subside when he drank. The taste of the lemon pie reminded him of his mother. When he finished, Cho asked softly,

 

“Tell me what happened before coming to America, if you don’t mind.”

 

Gordon stared at her healthy and gentle face. He thought he was able to tell everything to her. He began to speak, “I was a secret agent for British army. I had no doubt about my occupation until my girlfriend got involved in…” Fiona’s face flashed back in his mind, and he stopped.

 

“Go on. I won’t tell anybody about your story. Is she waiting for you in your town?” Cho took the empty plate and the cup, put them on the side table.

 

“No. She died in the car accident.” It was the first time he’d spoken about Fiona’s death. It might be the first time for him to admit the fact that she was dead. He was surprised by it himself.

 

Cho didn’t say a word for a while after saying, “I’m so sorry to hear that.” She just stayed next to him.

 

The feeling that she had been listening to what he said comforted him and he continued talking. “Fiona and I met in Dublin. I had to research about one thing in Northern Ireland. That was the night I arrived at a pub. She was singing a beautiful song. I was mesmerized by her. We fell in love with each other. After that we kept in touch and sometimes had a date. That was the one of days when we were chased by the guy who misunderstood my mission. He was going to kill us. It seemed that I won the racing car, but the consequence was her death. She was shot and the guy shot himself by accident. I was the only survivor. Before leaving, I sent a text to her family about her death from her cellphone.” He remembered the time bitterly.

 

__Hiding in the bush, he waited for Fiona’s parents and Gardaís (policemen of Ireland). He watched their arrival and made sure they carried Fiona’s body from the car. Trembling with sorrow, he cursed himself. He was not even able to give his name to her parents because of his special duty. He lost his dearest people at the end of the mission._ _

 

“I keep remembering her face in the wrecked car. The medicine I took was helping me to get over that."

 

Cho refilled his cup. He drank it and felt calm. The tea was remarkably effective to his nerves. After twenty minutes or so, Cho told him,

 

“Taking an overdose of pills is not good for you. Promise you will drink tea when you feel uneasy.”

 

Gordon smiled weakly and said, “Yeah, I’ll promise.”

 

Cho nodded, “You take a shower first. I’ll make you fried rice. If you need your clothes washed, put them into a laundry basket in front of a washing machine.”

 

Gordon nodded, “Yes, I will. Thank you.” He felt as the same comfortableness as he had experienced in his younger days with his mother. “I’m sorry, I used your bed to have a nap. May I use the sofa for sleeping after a shower?” He didn’t want to leave the place. He was afraid that she would say ‘No.’ He was relieved when she answered,

 

“Sure. You’d better call to cancel the hotel you reserved. I’ll fill the bathtub for you.” She stood up and left.

 

Cho was trying to digest all information about Gordon while running the bath. As Moar, a native-American witch, who helped save Gordon, predicted, he was a spy. What a fragile heart he had! Watching the steam giving off, she remembered the kiss a while ago. To kiss a person she had just met might be imprudent, but she felt like she had known Gordon for a long time when she met him. Perhaps it was because Gordon and Harry were very much alike not only in their appearances, but also by their characters. Both of them were so chivalrous and so reckless. And they had so pure hearts around the girls though Harry seemed to be stronger than Gordon in terms of brave heart. She couldn’t stop minding that. Gordon’s was more delicate than Harry’s. The incident at the subway proved that. It was the time when she broke her oath that she would never use magic. She couldn’t let him die. She didn’t regret what she had done.

 

She turned a tap off and called Gordon. He walked in quietly, and she handed him clean towels and shut the door. She washed her hands and took out the ingredients from the fridge. She beat the eggs lightly and chopped the green onion. She was going to add two table spoons oil to the heated frying pan and thought of using her wand. She had already used it once that day. She felt like doing magical cooking for the first time in a while. And she remembered she had left her wand on the stool in the bathroom. She turned off the stove and left for the bathroom. Gingerly, she called through the door.

 

“Gordon, I have left something. Can I come in?”

 

The sound of the shower stopped and he answered, “Yeah.”

 

Making sure the curtain around the bathtub closed, she entered. She picked up her wand from the stool and was about to leave when she heard his voice from behind,

 

“You were using the stick when you rescued me.”

 

When she turned to Gordon, he stood there with a towel around his waist. In contrast to his delicate heart, his muscles popped out and she couldn’t help but stare at his upper body. His pale white skin was so artistic and tempting to touch, but his questioning words weighed on her mind.

 

“What did you say?” Uneasy feeling grew in her mind. _Did they fail in Obliviating him? Did he remember that she used the wand?_

 

He continued, “I know the people who use magic. I think Fiona was one of them. I wish she could have used the wand at that time. She must have had the wand on the run. I guess she wanted to keep the fact secret.” He got close to her. “You and Fiona have a point in common. But your hair is so black. Fiona’s was red. And her skin was like me. Your skin is not that yellow like the textbook says about people from Asia. Yours is rather milky white like liquid soap I used…” His hand touched her jaw and he planted a kiss on her lips.

 

She was completely unprepared. In her mind, she was searching the explanation about her wand, but her body protested to open her mouth. _Oh, Merlin, his voice!_ Gordon’s whisper admiring her beauty, ignited something in her. His husky voice was so much alike Harry’s…being against his warm chest, she whispered back without thinking, “Harry.”

 

Suddenly, Gordon disconnected his lips from hers. Disappointed, she opened her eyes. He turned around and she looked away in a flurry when he dropped the towel. When he finished putting on his clothes, he asked her,

 

“Who is Harry?”

 

She got silent. Gordon picked up the wand from the floor she dropped while kissing. He handed it to her.

 

“You loved him. Or you still love him.”

 

From his blue eyes, she couldn’t guess what he was thinking. She barely managed to utter the words, “I’ll make fried rice.” She went back to the kitchen.

 

Feeling stared at on the back, she shoved her wand into her pocket. She started cooking in a Muggle way. Stirring all ingredients in the pan after adding the scrambled egg, she was wondering if she should start talking about the Magical world or not. When she finished serving fried rice on each plate, she made up her mind. When she set the dishes on the table, she urged Gordon to sit down.

 

He said shortly, “It looks delicious.” And he took the spoon.

 

Seeing him eat, she started her story. “I’m not sure if your girlfriend was at Hogwarts…my old school, I learned the sort of things there, a lot. I met a guy who saved the magical world. We had a date while we were at school and experienced a war. He was a war hero. And I didn’t deserve him.” She bitterly remembered Ginny with her burning red hair with Harry. “Harry is the other girl’s. I’m a loser.”

 

Gordon kept eating without saying a word. When he finished, he spoke, “You are not a loser. I didn’t believe the fate before, but I believe now. I’m alive because of the invisible power. I feel something invisible, a kind of God let us meet each other.” And he added, “I’m sorry if you don’t feel in the same way as me. Thank you for saving my life. And thank you for cooking for me. It was very good.” He smiled. “Where did you learn how to cook this?”

 

“I learned from my mother. It’s been a while since the last time I came back home.”

 

“Where does she live?”

 

“She lives near London.”

 

“Do you want to see her again?”

 

“Yes. I miss her.” She stood up to carry the dishes.

 

Helping put the dishes into the sink, he looked up the night sky from the window. The bright moon was shining high. He said, “I miss my hometown. Let’s go back to Britain, together.”

 

“It may be a good idea.” She answered and started washing the dishes.

 

When she finished taking a shower and passed the sofa on her way to her bedroom, Gordon was already asleep, wrapped in a blanket she had given him. Looking back what happened in a day, she thought their kisses were just casual happenings. One lonely man met one lonely woman and kissed twice in a day, that was it. When tomorrow came, she would need to obliterate her secret from his memory. And she would send him off to London safely. After that, it might be a good idea to see her mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Many thanks to my beta, melian

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for TidalDragon's Knockout Challenge Round One at HPFF.  
> Many thanks to my beta, K.


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